Questions & Answers about Bahçede büyük bir ağaç var.
Why is the suffix -de used in bahçede instead of -da or -te?
The locative suffix means in, on, or at. It changes to match the word it attaches to. Because the last vowel in bahçe is e, vowel harmony rules make the suffix -de. Also, because the word ends in a vowel, we use a d instead of a t.
Why is the word order büyük bir ağaç instead of bir büyük ağaç?
How do we know var means there is rather than someone has it?
The word var literally means exists. When used with a location like bahçede (in the garden) and no possessive endings on the object, it simply means there is something in that place.
Why does the location bahçede come at the very beginning of the sentence?
In Turkish sentences describing what exists in a place using var (there is) or yok (there isn't), the location typically goes at the start. The literal structure here is: In the garden, a big tree exists.
Could I use the suffix -dir here instead of var to say 'is'?
No, because you are talking about existence. In Turkish, if you want to say 'there is' or 'there exists' something in a location, you must use var. The suffix -dir is used for stating absolute facts or giving definitions, not for pointing out that an object is present somewhere.
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